'One Day at a Time' star Franklin dies

Bonnie Franklin's family announced her cancer diagnosis in September.

Bonnie Franklin, the pert, redheaded actress remembered by millions for her role as divorced mom Ann Romano on the long-running sitcom "One Day at a Time," died Friday of complications from pancreatic cancer. She was 69.

Her family announced the cancer diagnosis in September.

Developed by Norman Lear and cocreated by Whitney Blake, "One Day at a Time" was groundbreaking for its focus on a young divorced mother seeking independence from a suffocating marriage. It premiered on CBS in December 1975, just five years after the network balked at having Mary Tyler Moore play a divorced woman on her own comedy series.

On her own in Indianapolis, Ann Romano was raising two teenage girls -- played by Mackenzie Phillips, already famous for the film "American Graffiti," and a previously unknown Valerie Bertinelli. "One Day at a Time" ran on CBS until 1984. During the first seven of its nine seasons on the air, the show was a Top 20 hit.

Bertinelli said Friday that Franklin was a "second mother to me" and one of the most important women in her life.

"My heart is breaking," the actress said in a statement. "The years on 'One Day at a Time' were some of the happiest of my life. ... She taught me how to navigate this business and life itself with grace and humor, and to always be true to yourself. I will miss her terribly."

"I was wrong -- I thought life forces never die. Bonnie was such a life force," he said in a statement.

Franklin was married for 29 years. Her husband, TV producer Marvin Minoff, died in 2009.

A private memorial will be held next week, her family said.

Rivers stirs controversy

Joan Rivers is garnering criticism for another tasteless joke.

USA Today reports that the comedian has sparked controversy over a joke she made about Heidi Klum, who wore a sexy Julien Macdonald dress to an Oscar party for Elton John's AIDS Foundation.

"The last time a German looked this hot was when they were pushing Jews into the ovens," Rivers said of the German-born supermodel on Monday's episode of her weekly E! show, "Fashion Police."

The Anti-Defamation League's director Abraham H. Foxman, a Holocaust survivor, said in a statement that the comments were "vulgar and offensive to Jews and Holocaust survivors."

When asked for comment, Rivers, who is Jewish, told the Hollywood Reporter, "My husband ( Edgar Rosenberg) lost the majority of his family at Auschwitz, and I can assure you that I have always made it a point to remind people of the Holocaust through humor."

Local film screens today

"Believe Again," a locally produced feature film about faith and the human spirit, will make its metro Detroit debut this morning.

"Believe Again" is the story of a successful businessman (played by Tim Kaiser) who loses his family, job and home but comes to realize, as Kaiser explains in the film's trailer, that "there's still hope."

Director Noriko Kambara says in the news release for the film that she was inspired to make "Believe Again" soon after she moved to Michigan from Japan in 2009.

"The media often exaggerate only the dark aspects of Detroit," she says. "I want to show them the beautiful aspects of Michigan through my film."

"Believe Again" will screen at 10:30 a.m. today at the Main Art Theatre, 118 N. Main St., Royal Oak. Tickets are $7 in advance, $9 at the box office. It will be shown along with "Abandoned Buddy," a 14-minute short film based on the true stories of pets that are left to die when their human owners leave behind foreclosed homes.

For more on "Believe Again," go to http://pinemotion.com/.

Briefly

? Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Dabney said Friday there is no good reason to delay Lindsay Lohan's trial on charges of reckless driving and lying to police about a car crash last year. He set a March 18 trial date. Lohan was on probation at the time of the crash and could face up to 245 days in jail.

? Toby Keith's bassist and band leader, Carl (Chuck) Goff Jr. ,was killed Wednesday in a car accident in Oklahoma. Keith posted a statement on his website calling Goff "a close friend for over 25 years."

? One person is dead and another is injured after a drive-by shooting outside the tour bus of rapper French Montana after a concert in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Police are looking for witnesses, but say they don't know whether the rapper or someone in his entourage were targets.

? Actor Christian Slater, 43, is engaged to Brittany Lopez, his girlfriend of three years.

? The CW has canceled "90210" after five seasons, the network announced Thursday. The series finale, set to air May 13, will feature Prince Michael Jackson in his acting debut.

? Local poets and authors will gather at the Carr Center today to salute Detroit author Sylvia Hubbard, who lost everything she owned in a January house fire. Vickie Thomas of WWJ-AM (950) is expected to speak at the event. The fund-raiser runs from 3 to 5:30 p.m. A $20 donation is suggested.

? Final Curtain Call, a retirement party for AIDS Partnership Michigan Executive Director Barbara Murray, will feature a performance of "Dirty Blonde" by performers from Jackson's Prison City Players and from the touring version of "The Lion King" that's currently in Detroit. The Monday event will include a 4 p.m. reception, followed by a 6 p.m. dinner, then the show. Tickets are $25 (reception only), $75 (dinner and show) or $90 (for both). Proceeds will benefit APM and Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS. For tickets, go to

aidspartnership.org or call 800-872-2437. Tickets also will be sold at the door.

? Moviegoers who bring a nonperishable food donation to Sunday's 2 p.m. showing of "Life of Pi" at the Maple Theatre in Bloomfield Township will get free popcorn. Donations will benefit Forgotten Harvest.